Automatic packaging machine



July 4, 1944. E. BEHRENT En A1.'

AUTOMAT 'I C PAGKACT I NG MACHINE Filed Oct 1L 194D '7 Sheets-SheetINVENTCRS [EIC fHRE/VT EUGENE f.' MAERESFORD A RNEY Z l July 4, 1944. E.BEHRENT ETAL 3531,05

AUTOMATIC PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Occ. l2, 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS ER/C/ BEI/RENT El/G'A/E F.' MAR'REJFORD July 4, 1944. E.BEHRENT ET AL. 2,353,005

AUTOMATIC PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. 12, 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 iINVENTORS July 4, 1944- E. BEHRENT ErAL 2,353,005

AUTOMATIC PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. l2. 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 oNvEN-rons imc mes/v7' EugL/VE E MAAA'EJFORD July 4, 1944. E. BEHRENT E-rAL 2,353,005

AUTOMATI C PACKAGING MACHNE Fi'ied oct. 12, A1940 v Isheets-sheet 5 IINVENTORS ER/c BEHRENT EUBGYENE E MAKKESFOKD RNE;

July 4, 1944. E. BEHRENT r-:TAL

AUTOMATIC PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. l2. 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 IllTIII4 INVENTORS ERIC EEP/RENT EUGENE E MAEESFORD July 4, 1944. E. BEHRENTET AL.

AUTOMATIC PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Oct. l2, 1940 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7INVENTORS ERIC BEI/RENT EUGENE f. MAEEESFOR/J RNEY y Patented July 4,1944 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcza AUTOMATIC PACKAGING MACHINEApplicatlonoctober 12, 1940, Serial No. 360,944

11 Claims.

Our invention pertains torautomatic packaging machines and has for itsprincipal object to increase both the speed of operation of suchmachines and the accuracy of weighing the unit quantity (as 1 lb., l/2lb., etc.) of the product that is filled into each carton or container.

Another `object is to provide means whereby a carton or other containerbeing filled is the timing means that controls operation of the machine,

Another object is to provide means whereby a container that is beingfilled sets the timing means in operation before the filling iscompleted, so that the lag or time interval necessary for the containermoving mechanism to take up the slack therein and begin functioning haselapsed by the time thev container is filled and there is no intervalbetween the filling of the container and the start of its removal. i

Another object is to provide means for accelerating the removal of afilled container from the point of filling immediately that thecontainer is filled.

Another object is to weigh automatically a unitL quantity of materialandfill it into a selected one of a line of empty containers that arebeing advanced by a continuously moving conveyor, in combination withmeans controlled by the container that is being filled to relieve itfrom side pressure of its adjacent containers while it is be-` ingfilled.

Another object is to provide a weighingmeans and filling chuteconstructed and cooperating so that a weighed quantity of a product willbe fed uniformly from the weighingfmeans'along the chute and into thecontainer without clogging, breaking r bunching Another object is toprovide a by-pass in the delivery chute to the weighing apparatus whichmay be operated either manually or by remote electric control to divertthe flow of material in case of a jam in the weighing apparatusordelivery chute, or mal-functioning of any part of the mechanism.

Another object is to provide an yautomatic vweighing and carton fillingmachine wherein the cycle of movement of the mechanism is shorter thanthe time required for filling a carton and in part overlaps the filling,and the carton feeding means operates at a speed'sufiicient to supplyempty cartons faster than they can be filled and removed.

Another object is to provide meansf in a carton vfeeding and fillingmachine in which the cartons are fed to and from the machine byanendless belt, whereby the last of the cartons in the line or trainwill be fed to and from the machine without manual assistance.

Another object is to provide an automatic weighing and lling machinewherein the maximum speed of the filling mechanism in filling unitweights or volumes of material into containers exceeds the maximum speedor rate vat which the weighing mechanism can weigh or measure the unitquantities,

The above and other objects of the invention are attained by theembodiment thereof shown lin the accompanying drawings wherein we haveillustrated a cartonffilling machine particularly adapted for weighingand filling crackers, but `the invention is adapted for use with manykinds of products and many kinds of containers. The machine shown is butillustrative of the invention and not a limitation thereon.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view, with the weighing mechanism and deliverychute omitted, of a carton feeding and'filling mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the automatic weighing mechanism anddelivery chute, and also showsthe carton liner spreader fingers.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation, looking from the left to right of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view, with parts broken away, of the by-pass ofFig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Y

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Figs. 4 and 8, showing the lineropening ngers.

Fig. 8 is a view, looking from right to left of Fig. 7, showing theoperation of the liner lopening fingers. I

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 9.9 of Figs. 2 and 12, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Fig. 10 is a section taken on the linelD-KIU of Figs. 2 and l2, lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 11 is a section taken on the. line lI--ll of Fig, 9 showing the'mechanism whereby a carton that is being filled controls thetiming andoperation of the apparatus.

Fig. 12 is a top plan view, as indicated rby the line i2-l2 on Fig. 11,with parts broken away to show the mechanism beneath.

The machine, which we have chosen to illustrate one embodiment of ourinvention, is designed for automatically weighing and packaging crackersin waxpaper lined cartons. vHow- 56 ever, the invention is not limitedto this use and is equally well-adapted for weighing and packaging anykind of material or small articles which will fiow readily andcontainers of any type can be used such as unlined cartons, paper bags,glass jars, fiber containers and the like.

Referring first to Fig. 3, a continuous belt or conveyor 20 carriescrackers continuously to the upper end of a delivery chute 2| where thecrackers upon leaving the belt flow over a by-pass gate 22 and a coarsescreen 23, through which crumbs and small pieces of cracker sift out,thence over a delivery plate 24 to a weighing scale having fourrotatable vanes 25, 25, 21 and 25. In some cases the screen 23 is notused, in which case it is covered with or replaced by a sheet metalplate, or spaced parallel bars may be used instead of a screen with somekinds of material. The weighing scale is a commercial article and thevanes are adapted to receive and discharge definite quantities by weightof the crackers in succession. The weighing scale discharges to afilling chute 23, the lower end of which discharges into a carton 30that is to be filled. The weighing scale is adjusted so that eachweighed quantity is suiiicient to fill one carton 35. These cartons arelined and the liner 3l extends above the top of the carton and it isheld open or spread apart by sets of spreader nngers 32, 33 on two sideswhile it is being filled by crackers flowing down the filling chute 23.

The carton 30 that is being filled is supported on a movable platform ortiming scale 34 (Fig. ll) to which the empty cartons are supplied by acontinuously moving endless belt 35. When the carton on the timing scaleis filled it is automatically removed and the next carton on the belt 35is moved into position to receive the next lot of crackers. The timingscale is actuated by the weight of the partly filled carton while it isbeing filled and controls the operation of the fingers 32, 33 which openthe liner and of stops 35, 31 which engage the carton that is beingfilled so as to properly locate it on the timing scale under the fillingchute and a following empty carton in the line, so as to prevent thefollowing cartons from pressing on the carton that is being filled. Thecontrol mechanism is set in operation by movement of the timing scaledue to the weight of the carton while it is being filled so that all ofthe slack in the mechanism has been taken up and the time necessary forit to start functioning has elapsed by the time that the complete chargeis received in the carton so that there is no delay in removing thefilled carton and bringing the next empty carton into position` In otherwords, the carton which is being filled is itself the timing means whichcontrols the operation of the machine. By this means a filled cartonwill be removed the instant that it has been filled and if there is anydelay in filling it, it will remain in position until the fillingoperation is complete. This has enabled us to speed up the operation ofweighing unit quantities of the crackers (as say, one-half pound orpound units) and placing them in cartons two, three or four times themaximum speed that has been attainable heretofore.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the belt 35 that carries the emptycartons to the timing scale and carries away the filled cartons comes.infrom the left in these figures and passes around a pulley 35 which isadjacent the entrant edge of the timing scale platform.34. The belt thenpasses over one of two driving pulleys 39, thence over an idler 45 andaround a pulley 4l vadiacent the delivery end of the timing scale 34.The belt then passes around an idler 42 and back over another idler 43and around a second driving pulley 44 from which it passes around atake-up pulley 45; thence back to the left where it passes aroundanother idler to come up to the upper run of the belt 35 where itreceives the empty cartons from the carton forming and lining machine.

The take-up pulley 45 is mounted on a shaft which rotates in a pair ofsliding blocks 45, 41 supported on guideways and in which the screwthreaded shafts 43, 49 engage. Each of these shafts near its righthandedge carries a spiral gear which meshes with similar spiral gears 5I, 5|keyed to a shaft 52 to one end of which the hand wheel 53 is fixed.Rotation of the hand wheel 53 will move the sliding bearings 45, 41 andthe pulley 45 with them to adjust the tension of the belt 35.

The belt is driven from any suitable source of power as an electricmotor 54 which through a chain 55 drives a sprocket 56 which is keyed toa shaft 51. The shaft 51 carries a gear 5l meshing with a gear 59 keyedto the shaft driving pulley 44. The shaftv 51 also carries a sprocketwhich through a chain '5l drives a sprocket 52 keyed to the shaft 53that drives the driving pulley 33. It will be noted that the two drivingpulleys 39, 44 rotate in opposite directions to drive the belt 35.

The shaft 53 extends across the machine and on its opposite sidescarries a sprocket 54 which drives a chain 55, running over a sprocket55 `that is connected to one element of a one-revolution clutch 51 whichnormally rotates freely on a cam shaft 55 to which the other element 59of the one-revolution clutch is fixed. This clutch is a usual type ofone-revolution clutch. such for example as the single revolution clutchmade by The Hilliard Corporation, and need not be described in detail,because its construction is well known to engineers and mechanics and,per se, it is not part of our invention. The shaft 55 carries a cam 10which controls the operation of the liner spreader fingers 32, 33 andalso carries a, cam 1I which controls the operation of the stops 35, 31and also of an accelerating roller 12, the function of which is toengage the bottom of a carton that has been filled on the timing scaleand accelerate or assist in its removal therefrom so that the next emptycarton can be moved into filling position promptly by the belt 35.

The operation of this timing mechanism is best illustrated in Figs. 9 to12. The platform of the timing scale 34 is secured to a pair ofdepending arms 13 which are connected to the free ends of a pair of longlinks 14 and at their lower ends are similarly connected to a pair ofshort links 15. The other ends of the links 14 and 15 are pivotallyconnected to a triangularly shaped frame 15. This frame has a forwardlyprojecting arm 11 pivotally connected with it to which one end of a coilspring 18 is connected, the lower end of the coil spring being connectedto a pin 19 which connects the links 15 to the lower ends of the arms13. 'I'he tension of the spring is selected or adjusted by an integralscrew and pin 11', the upper end of the pin bearing on arm 11, so thatthe timing scale will not be depressed by an empty carton but it will bedepressed by the carton when it is partly filled, usually to aboutone-half to three-quarters of its capacity. The arms 13 at their lowerends carry a laterally extending finger 33 which lies between twoadjustable stops 3|, 32 so as to limit the up and down movements of theplatform 33. y

A mercury switch 33 is connected to oscillate with the short arms 13. Itwill be noted that because of the shortness of the links13, they willoscillate through a much greater arc than do the links 13 with the samevertical movement of the scale platform 34. l Thus, a very slightmovement of the platform is sufiicient to tilt the mercury switch 33 soas to close the contacts. The wires 3l, 33 from the mercury switch areconnected to a source of power to energize a solenoid 33 (Figs. 1, 2 and12) The solenoid 33 has an armature which is connected to one end of apivoted latch 33 that engages and normally prevents rotation of theclutch element 33 that is fixed to the shaft33. When the weight of acarton 30 is sufficient to depress the scale platform 34 and tilt themercury switch 33, the solenoid 33 is energized and releases the latch33 from the clutch. This causes the shaft 33 to make one completerevolution when it will again be brought to rest by reason of the clutchelement 33 11e-engaging the latch 33 at the end of the revolution.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 8, the linerk3| of the carton as it comes fromthe forming machine and is delivered to the belt 33 is or may be bowedin on its two sides as indicated at 33, 30 in Fig. '1. The function ofthe spreader fingers 32, 33 is to press back the bowed sides of theliner against the sides of the carton while it is being filled. Wepreferably use three fingers 33 on one side of the carton which arestaggered with respect to two fingers 32 that are used on the oppositeside of the carton. The three fingers 33 are fixed to an oscillatingshaft 3| which has a short arm 32 connected to one end of a link 33, theopposite end of which is connected to a longer arm 33 fixed to a shaft33 carrying the two fingers 32. Either' the shaft 33 may carry a shortarm or one of the fingers 32 may have a short extension 33 to which theupper end of a link 31 is connected. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, verticalreciprocating motioxr of the link 31 will oscillate the shaft 33,carrying the fingers 32 with it and through the crank arms 33, 32 andlink 33 will oscillate the shaft 3| carrying the fingers 33.

Usually the liner for the carton has a seam or lap on one side as 33 andthat side bows inwardly less than the side 30. The side 30 at times maybow in so far that it would be struck by the center 'finger 33 if thefinger 33 came down into the carton before the bowed side'30 were out ofthe way. By having the crank 34 longer than the crank 32 and slightly inadvance thereof, the fingers 32 will enter Within the liner and pressthe bowed side back far enough so that it cannot be struck by thecenterfinger 33 before any of the fingers 33 get down into the top ofthe liner. Then as the shaft 35 continues to oscillate due to thecontinued upward stroke of the link 31, the speed of oscillation of theshaft 3| will increase so that the fingers 33 will speed up and be fullydown inside the liner and holding the side 33 back in position by thetime that the fingers 32 are fully down.

Referring now to Figs. 11 and 12, the 1mg s1 is connected at its lowerend to an arm 33 which is pivoted at 33 to the frame of the machine andat its opposite end is connected to a spring |0|. Intermediate its pointof support 33 and the link 31, the lever 33v carries a roller |02 whichis adapted to engage in a groove in the cam 13 that shown in Fig. 8.When the fingers are in this retracted position a filled carton can beremoved from the platform 3l and an empty carton positioned thereonready vto be filled with crackers. The roller |02 engages in the recessin the cam 10 when the shaft 33 is at` rest and the groove in the cam isrelatively deep so that the roller |02 operates to locate accurately thedriven part 33 of the one-revolution clutch when it has completed itsrevolution. This groove and roller |02 take the place of a brake to holdthe clutch at the point of disengagement and prevents chattering whichwould occur otherwise without a brake.

When the string of cartons is approaching the timing scale from the leftas in'Fig. 11 it is necessary to locate the carton 30 that is to befilled accurately on the timing scale and since the belt 33 is drivencontinuously and is carrying a long string of empty cartons, it isnecessary to prevent this string of cartons from pressing against theside of the carton that is being filled. If there were any considerablepressure against the side of the carton 30, it kwould tend to hold upthe carton and prevent its weight from being exerted ormeasuredvaccurately'upon the timing scale platform 30.

In order to position the carton 30 accurately and to prevent sidepressure against it from the on-coming string of emptyfcartons, weprovide two stop fingers 33, 31 the first of which engages the forwardor advance side of the carton that is to be filled and accuratelylocates it upon the timingv scale. The other finger 31 passes betweentwoffollowing cartons and holds back the string of cartons on the belt33 so that they cannot press against the carton 30 (see Fig.` il).

As shown in Figs. 9 and 12 the stop fingers 33, 31 are made fromrelatively thin metal and are pivotally mounted at |03, |03 on the frameof themachine and springs |03 (Fig. 9) tend to press the fingers 33, 31of the stops inward so that they project into the line or path of travelof the cartons. Each of the stops has a U-shaped recess as shown in Fig.9 which loosely embraces a roller |03, |01-v carried by arms |03, |03keyed to arock shaft I0 mounted in bearings on the frame of the machine.The shaft ||0 carries a rocker arm to which one end of a vertical link||2 is connected. The lower end of the link is connected to an arm |I3that is keyed to a shaft ||I the opposite end of which carries anotherarm |I5 connected at its free end to push-rod |I3 which at its oppositeend has a fork ||1 fitting over the shaft 3l and a roller or follower||3 that rides upon the cam -1|` The shaft ||3 which carries the pulley3| also carries a sprocket |20 driving a chain |2| that engages asprocket |22 keyed to a shaft v|23 that is mounted in bearings on aswinging frame |20 supported by bearings |23, |23 on the shaft ||3. Theshaft |23 extends to'one side ofthe swinging frame and has theaccelerating roller 12 fixed to it. The timing scale platform 33 has isfilled the rotating roller is swung up through the opening so that itengages the bottom of the filling carton and accelerates its movementfrom the scale.

The accelerating roller is moved into and out of contact with the bottomof the carton through its connection with the shaft ill, the movement ofwhich is controlled by the cam ll. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 11. theshaft lil has an arm |28 to the outer end of which the lower end of thelink |29 is connected. The upper end of this link is connected to theswinging frame |24. As the shaft Ill is oscillated so as to rock theshaft and withdraw the stops $4, l1. it also swings the frame |24 upwarduntil the roller 12 contacts the bottom of the filled carton asshownindcttedlinesinFig. 11.

Referring now to Fig. l1. the cams 1li and II rotate counter-clockwise.The roller ||l on the push-rod llt is in engagement with the high partof the cam which embraces about 270 and is concentric with the axis ofrotation so that when the roller lil is riding on this high part of thecam there will be no movement of the shaft Ill and its connected parts.The cam also has a short concentric part Il! which embraces about 75 andis lower than the high part of the cam. The active part of the camconsists of a short drop III and a similar short rise |12. As the camrotates counter-clockwise and the miler or follower lll rides down theshort deeline lll, the spring |33 pulls the follower in toward the lowconcentric portion III and rocks the shaft ||4 clockwise. This movementwithdraws the stops 38, l1 and raises the roller 12 into contact withthe bottom of the carton. This operation is timed so that the fingersare withdrawn and the roller brought into contact with the bottom of thecarton at just about the instant that the carton Il has received itsfull quantity of crackers. When the shaft t4 has rotated about onequarter of a revolution the roller lil rides up on the rise |22 whichrocks the shaft ||4 back to its original position withdrawing the roller12 and releasing the stops 3i, Il which are then free to be pressedinward by the springs to engage the next cartons. The time that theroller Ill is in contact with the low part of the cam ISI is less thanit takes for the filled carton to move entirely ofi' from the scaleplatform so that when the stops li, 21 are released. the springs bringthem back into contact with the sides of the cartons. They are then inposition to enter between two cartons as soon as the edges of thecartons that they are contacting come up to the stops.

In order that the stops may enter between adjacent cartons withcertainty, we provide means for moving the carton which is on the scaleplatform and the next adjacent carton slightly out of `line with theempty cartons on the left hand end of the belt 35 and the filled cartonson the right hand end of the saine belt.

Referring now to Fig. 1, we provide a wedgeshaped member or defiector|34 at one side of the belt 25 so that as the cartons pass it, thedeilector causes the advancing edge of one carton to move laterally outof alignment. This is the second carton marked B, Fig. 11, and its beingangled in this manner causes a gap |38 to he opened between it and thenext forward carton BOA into which gap the nger 31 will be snapped bythe spring as it slides off of the edge of the carton 30A (see Fig. l1).The guide rails |62. itl at the two sides of belt 35 converge slightlyat the timing scale (Figs. 1 and 12),

at the right (Fig. 11), the offset |61 wm permit' pressure of the finger3l against the carton Il to move it laterally away from the finger andout of alignment with the following carton 30A so that when the forwardedge of the carton 30A comes into position on the platform 34 the fingerI8 will be in far enough to engage and stop it. The finger 36 is locatedso that when the forward face of the carton contacts it, the carton willbe properly located beneath the nlling chute 29 and in position so thatthe liner spreading fingers I2, 33 can enter the top and hold the liner.The space between the stops 21 is slightly greater than the width of twocartons so thatthere is no side pressure on the carton lil while it isbeing filled except the very slight pressure due to the carton 30A whichis not greater than the sensitiveness of the timing scale 34.

Our filling and weighing machine is capable ol very rapid operation. itscapacity being 30 or more one-pound cartons per minute. The volume ofmaterial handled is considerable and it must be supplied rapidly anduniformly in order for the machine to function properly. In case of amal-function in any part of the machine, the crackers or other materialbeing packaged will continue to be supplied and within a few secondswill cause a considerable pile up of material. Also the cracke'rs mustflow uniformly from the weighing scale into the cartons and not bedumped in in one large bunch or group. Therefore. it is necessary thatthe filling chute be designed to cooperate with the weighing scale tocause the crackers or other material to flow along it in a uniformstream to the carton that is being filled. In the event of amal-function or stopping of the filling mechanism for any purpose, wehave provided a by-pass by means of which the material coming to thedelivery chute 2l can be by-passed until the trouble has been remedied.

Referring again to Figs. 3 to 6, the crackers coming in on the belt 20pass over the by-pass gate 22 which is secured to a shaft |31 whichextends across the delivery chute 2| and is supported to oscillate inbearings III, |30. At one end the shaft |31 carries an arm |40 (Fig. 6)which is adapted to engage either of two adjustable stops |4|, |42 tolimit movement of the gate 22 in both directions.

At its opposite end the shaft |21 carries a crank arm |43 which isconnected to the upperkend of a link |44, the lower end of which isconnected to operating crank or lever |45 which is adjacent the lowerend of the filling chute 29 where it may be easily reached by theoperator or attendant of the machine. When the operator notes anytrouble with the machine or that the delivery chute or weighing scale orfilling chute has become clogged, he will rock the lever |45 so as toraise the by-pass gate 22 to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5.This opens up a direct passage to the by-pass chute |46 through whichthe crackers or other articles will flow into suitable containers untilthe difilculty has been remedied. Since the machine attendant may notalways be close to the lever |45 in case of trouble, we have provided aremote control for the by-pass gate which is operated electrically fromany convenient point as from the check-weighers station |88 (Figs. l and2). As shown in Fig. 6, a latch plate |41 is mounted loosely on theshaft |31 and Vhas a laterally extended lug |43 which engages under `thearm |43. The latch plate also Vhas a lip |49 that is engaged by apivoted latch |50 which normally prevents rotation of the latch plate.The'latch plate has a pin |5| to which one end `of a spring |52 isconnected. The tension of this spring tends to rotate the latch platecounter-clockwise (Fig. v) and holds the lip |49 `against the latch |50.'I'he latch |50 is connect- `closing the circuit to the solenoid |54,which will lift the latch |50 and the spring |52 will throw the by-Dassgate over to the dotted line position vshown in Fig. 5. The operation ofthe switch and solenoid is much quicker than manual operation of .thelever v|45 and usually willbe relied upon for control of the by-pass.

A springl|55 similar to the spring |52 is connected to a pin |55 on thelever |40 and normalrly holds the lever down so that the arm |40 is incontact with the stop |4|. When the arm A|40 engages the stop |4|, theby-pass gate 22 is in yfull line position as shown in Fig. 5. It will benoted that the center line of the spring |55 passes below the axis ofthe shaft |31 (Fig. 5) and that itspull is counter to the pull of thespring |52 but the spring |52 has a longer effective lever arm and willpull the lever |43 along with it when the latch is released until thecenter of the spring |55 passes the axis of the shaft, after which bothsprings |52 and |55 are effective in raising the by-pass gate 22,

In normal operation the crackers supplied to the delivery chute by thebelt 2|! flow over the by-pass gate 22 and across the screen 23, if thelatter is used, where crumbs and fine particles are sifted out. Thecrackers then flow on to the delivery or distributing plate 24 whichcauses the crackers to be distributed in a uniform layer or stream asthey fall onto one of the v anes of the weighing scale. The weighingscale is of a usual commercial type and'has four vanes supported on ashaft which is connected to and supported by one end of the scale beam|51.

The scale moves up and down with varying load as controlled by theadjustable weights on the scale beam |51. A latch |58 is adapted toengage the vane which extends vertically upward and prevents rotation.As shown in Fig. 3, the vane 25 is engaging the latch |50. The deliveryor distributing plate 24 is arranged so that the crackers delivered byit will fall on the vane which is `then horizontal, the vane 25 being soshown in this fligure, so that they will pile up on the vane near theaxis or center of rotation and not near the outer edge of the vane. Wehave found -this to be an important feature of the invention and that itcontributes materially to the uniform flow of the crackers along thefilling chute. The weights on the scale areadjusted so that when a unitquantity of crackers as say, one pound or one-half pound, has fallenonto the vane 25, the scale will descend and the vane 25 will clear thelatch |58. The scale starts to rotate and the crackers to slide voff thevane 25 into the filling chute 29. It will be remembered that thecrackers are piled up on the vane 25 near the center and few, if any,adjacent its delivery edge. As the vane starts to rotate downward thecrackers start to slide off it and against the curved rear part |59 ofthe filling chute. This part of the filling chute |59 is curved so thatas the vane lswings down the distance between the tip of the vane andthe curved wall is continuously increasing. This prevents any jamming ofthe crackers between the edge of the vane and the wall of the chute andalso insures a more uniform distribution. For a short distance a part ofthe chute |50 is straight and it terminates in a curved portion I5| atthe delivery end which preferably takes Vthe form of the path that thecrackers would travel if they fell freely after leaving the straightpart of the chute at about the point |52. In other words, the curvedportion of the chute |6| is such that there is little or no friction ofthe crackers fiowing over it but they enter the carton just as thoughthey were falling freely from the point |52. We have found that thecurvature of the'filling chute at |58 where tsdistance from the tip ofthe vane is constantly increasing and the curvature of the delivery endof the chute so that the crackers fall freely contribute materially tothe speed at which the weighing and filling apparatus may be operatedand the uniformity at which the material fiows.

The belt `35 which carries a continuous line of .cartons to the fillingstation or timing scale travthe interval that the roller ||8 is4traveling from the incline |3| to the incline |32 is less than the timethat it takes the carton 30A to travel its full width. The sole timingmechanism is the timing scale 34 and its operation depends upon the rateat which the cartons are filled. The faster the crackers are filled intothe carton 30 the more frequently the mercury switch 83 will be trippedand the operating mechanism actuated. The tension of the spring 1Bagainst which the timing scale operates is selected so that the timingscale will move down far enough to close the mercury switch when it hasbeen filled to about one-half or a little more of its capacity. Thus, ifthe cartons being filled are one pound cartons, the switch will beclosed when a little more than one-half pound of crackers are in thecarton 30 and the remainder of the pound is still flowing down thefilling chute 29. It will thus be seen that the operating mechanism isset in operation before the carton is entirely filled and the cartonwhich is being filled is itself the means which times its own removal.This machine operates very rapidly, weighing and filling up to 30 ormore packages per minute so that it is necessary that the means forremoving the carton and bringing in an empty carton be set in operationbefore the carton is completely filled because there is necessarily aslight lag or delay between the time that the mercury switch is closedand when the cams 10 and 1| start to function. Thus, if the switch 83 isclosed when the carton is about one-half full, thev rest of the unitquantity of crackers will have been received in the carton by the timethat the clutch 61 has been engaged and started to revolve the shaft 68.As soon as the shaft -68 starts to turn, it depresses the roller |02which through the link 91 raises the spreader fingers 32, 33 out of thecarton to the highest dotted line position shown in Fig. 8. Continuedrotation of the shaft next withdraws the stops 3B, 31 and simultaneouslytherewith moves the accelerator roller 12 against the bottom of thefilled carton. Usually when there is a long string of empty cartons onthe conveyor 35 which may be 25 ieet or longer there is sufficientpressure exerted by these cartons against the filled carton after thestops I8, 31 have been withdrawn so that movement of the filled cartontoward the righthand side of the belt I5 has started before theaccelerator roller 'I2 comes into operation. However, when the line ofcartons on the belt 3i is short or when the end of the run approaches sothat nearly al1 of the cartons have been used up, their pressure isinsufficient to shove the lled carton along. at least it will not beshoved along quickly enough. In that case the accelerator roller comesinto operation to remove the filled carton quickly and to enable theentire line of cartons on the belt Ii to be moved in and filled.

The belt 20 carrying the crackers to the delivl ery chute 2i is operatedat such a speed that it will normally fill and operate the weighingscale about 30 times per minute. 'I'hls means that about once every twoseconds a unit quantity of crackers will be started down the chute 28.There must be ,a carton le in position on the weighing scale to receivethese crackers whenever they come down. Therefore, in order to takeadvantage of the maximum speed at which the weighing scale may operate,the means for feeding, positioning and removing the cartons from thetiming scale must operate within less time than it takes to supply aunit quantity of crackers to the weighing scale. By having the mechanismfor controlling the cartons set in operation before the carton iscompletely lled, a much faster operation can be attained because thereneed be no delay between the filling of the carton and its removal.

In some cases as when the line of empty cartons on the belt ll is longenough, or the filled cartons are light enough so that they can beaccelerated rapidly, or the speed of operation is relatively slow, theaccelerator roller 12 may be dispensed with. But usually the operationwill be faster and more certain with the roller in use.

We have shown the belt 35 as continuous on both sides of the timingscale, but this illustrates only one form of conveyor that may be usedand the invention is not limited thereto. When we use the term belt orconveyor it will be understood to mean either a one piece belt, asillustrated, or other equivalent means to perform the same function.

While we have shown but one form of our invention and have used specificterms in describing and claiming it, it is to be understood that this isfor purposes of illustration only and not as limitations on theinvention. We claim al1 modifications and adaptations thereof that maycome within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.

What we claim is:

l. In a weighing and filling machine, the combination of a fillingchute, means for intermittently discharging unit quantities of materialto the chute. means for positioning an empty lined carton beneath thechute to receive a unit quantity of material therefrom, and spreadersadjacent two opposite sides of the lower end of the chute for spreadingand holding open the top of the liner while the material is entering thecarton, cranks of different lengths connected to operate the spreaderson the respective sides, the longer crank being in advance of theshorter one, a link connecting said cranks, means for oscillating saidcranks to cause said spreaders to enter and withdraw from the top of thecarton, the relative angularity of the cranks being such that thespreaders on the side actuated by the long crank enter the top of thecarton ahead of the spreaders on the other side.

2. In a weighing and filling machine, the combination of a fillingchute, means for intermittently supplying unit quantities of material tothe chute, a timing scale beneath the delivery end of the chute, feedingmeans for supplying empty cartons to the timing scale, means forposltioning an empty carton on the scale to receive material from thechute, the chute being formed to deliver a unit quantity of material ina unlform stream tothe carton, means for removing the carton when it hasreceived a unit quantity of material, control means for said positioningmeans and removing means, and means set in operation by the timing scalewhen the carton has received a part only of a unit quantity to actuatesaid control means independently of said supplying means.

3. In a filling machine, the combination of a timing scale, acontinuously driven belt for carrying a line of empty cartons to saidscale, a pair of yieldably mounted fingers normally projecting into thepath of travel of the cartons, one finger being arranged to engage theforward side of a carton on the scale, the other finger being arrangedto engage the forward side of a following carton on the belt and relievethe carton on the scale from pressure of the cartons on the belt, meansfor withdrawing the fingers against the tension of the yieldable meanswhen the carton on the scale has been filled whereby the cartons aremoved forward by the belt, said ngers being released when the cartonshave been moved less than their width whereby the fingers re-engage thecartons on their sides and engage the forward sides of the nextfollowing cartons as they come into registry therewith, and means forseparating the edges of the cartons that are engaged on their sides bythe iingers from the next following cartons whereby the fingers mayenter therebetween.

4. In a filling machine, the combination of a timing scale, acontinuously moving belt for supplying a line of empty cartons thereto,a pair of stops movable into and out of the path of travel of thecartons, one of said stops being adapted to engage the forward side of acarton and position it on the scale, the other of said stops beingadapted to engage the forward side of a following carton and hold theline of cartons from pressing against the carton on the scale, means forweighing a quantity of material to fill a carton when it has beenpositioned on the scale by said stop, means for dumping into the cartonsaid quantity as soon as it is weighed, spreaders for holding the top ofthe carton open while it is being filled, operating means for said stopsand spreaders, and control means for said operating means that is set inoperation by `movement of said scale by a carton thereon while it isbeing filled, whereby the slack in the operating means will be taken upby the time the carton has received the entire weighed quantity.

5. In a weighing and filling machine, the combination of a fillingchute, a weighing scale adapted and arranged to weigh and deliver unittinuously drivenbelt carrying a line of empty cartons to saidtimingscale, a front stop for en- ,i gaging the forward side of a carton toposition it on' said timing scale -below the delivery end of ,saidfilling chute, asecond stop for engaging the forward side of a followingcarton on the belt to prevent pressure of the line of empty cartonsagainst Vthe carton on the timing scale, means for opening ga'psbetweenedges of the respective'cartons tobe engaged by said stops and the nextpreceding carton to provide' entrances for said stops, spreader 'fingersmounted adjacent the delivery end ofthe filling rvchute adapted to holdopen the top of the` carton on the timing scale, a cam shaft having camsfor operating said preader fingers and stops, a one-revolution clutchfor driving said cam shaft, and means controlled by movement of saidtiming scale when the carton thereon has received less than the unitquantity of material from the filling chute, to cause said clutch toengage and rotate said cam shaft, whereby the slack will be taken up,rotation of the cam shaft started, and the spreader fingers and stopsmoved to inoperative position by the time that the carton has receivedits full quantity, said control means being mechanically independent ofsaid weighing scale.

6. In a weighing and filling machine, the combination of a fillingchute, a weighing scale adapted and arranged to weigh and deliver unitquantities of material in succession to the upper end of said fillingchute, a timing scale, a continuously driven belt carrying a line ofempty cartons to said timing scale, a front stop for engaging theforward side of a carton to position it on said timing scale below thedelivery end of said' filling chute, a second stop for engagingtheforward side of a following carton on the belt to prevent pressure ofthe line of empty cartons against the carton on the timing scale, meansfor opening gaps between edges of the respective cartons to be engagedbysaid stops and the next preceding carton to provide entrances for saidstops, spreader fingers mounted adjacent the delivery end of the fillingchute adapted to hold open the top of the carton on the timing scale, acam shaft having cams for operating said spreader fingers and stops, aone-revolution clutch for driving said cam shaft, and means controlledby movement of said timing scale when the carton thereon has receivedless than the unit quantity of material from the filling chute, to causesaid clutch to engage and rotatelv said cam shaft, whereby the slackwill be taken up, rotation of the cam shaft begun and the spreaderfingers moved out of the carton when the full quantity has been receivedtherein, said control means being independent of said weighing scale,said cams being arranged to withdraw the spreader fingers from thecarton before the stops are retracted from holding position.

7. In a filling machine, the combination of av filling chute, means forplacing an empty lined carton beneath the chute to receive materialtherefrom, a pair of oscillatable shafts mounted adjacent opposite sidesof the filling chute and being on opposite sides of the carton to befilled, a plurality of fingers secured to each shaft, said fingers whenhorizontal extending toward each other between said shafts and above thecarton liner, means for oscillating said shafts simultaneously to turnthe fingers down into the cartonliner and. press it against'the sides ofthe carton, said oscillating means comprising cranks of differentlengths connected on the respective shafts and a linkl connecting saidcranks, whereby oscillation of the'shaftscauses the vlingers on thelshaftv having theA longer crank to yenter and press back one side of'the'liner before the fingers on the other shaft engage and press backthe opposite side of the liner. v

8. In a weighing andfilling machine, ythe combina'tion of a fillingchute, a weighing' scaleadapted and arranged to weigh and deliverdefinite unit quantities of material to the upper. end of the fillingchute a timingl scale, a continuously op erating means for supplying aline of empty cartons to and removing filled cartons from the timingscale, means for positioning the leading empty carton of said line onthe timing scale to receive a unit quantity of material from the lowerend of the chute, and control means for the positioning means Set inoperation by the timing scale while the unit quantity is flowing fromthe chute into the carton thereon, whereby the control means will startto function before. the carton is filled and the positioning means andfeeding means will be in operation to remove the filled carton andposition the following empty carton as soon as the first carton hasreceived its entire unit quantity, said feeding means, positioning meansand control means be ing mechanically independent of but functionallydependent on said weighing scale and delivery chute.

9. In a filling and weighing machine, the comm bination of a timingscale, a continuously driven belt for supplying a line of empty cartonsto said timing scale, stop means for positioning the leading carton ofthe line on the timing scale and for preventing pressure of the line ofcartons against the carton on the timing scale, a filling chutepositioned to deliver material into the carton onthe timing scale, aweighing scale positioned to deliver definite amounts of the materialperiodically to said filling chute, a con veyor delivering materialcontinuously to said weighing scale, said weighing scale beingindependently operable by the material received by it vto deliver tosaid filling chute a definite amount of the material as soon as it isreceived from the conveyor, a cam for withdrawing said stop means fromthe carton on the timing scale, a one-revolution clutch for driving saidcam, means actuated by movement of said timing scale when the cartonthereon has received less than said definite amount of material toengage said clutch and start rotation of said cam while vmaterial isstill flowing down said filling chute, the speed of rotation of theclutch being such that the clutch and cam make one comple-te revolutionand come to rest in less time than the conveyor can supply a definitequantity of material to the Weighing scale, and the speed of the beltbeing such that a filled carton Will be ren moved from the timing scaleand an empty carton positioned thereon in less time than said clutch andcam make one revolution, whereby the rate of filling the cartons iscontrolled by the rate at which material is supplied te the' Weighing'scale yet is mechanically independent thereof.

10. In a filling machine, the combinaties' f y timing scale, means forfeeding empli successively to the scale, means for posit the emptycarton on the scale, indepenc ily operated means for measuring a 'unitquantity of material and delivering it by gravity to fill the carton.means for removing the filled cartonV from the scale, and means set inoperation by` movement of the scale while the material is falling intothe carton to cause the feeding means. poaitioninl means and removingmeans to start their movements andtake up the lag therein bythetime;that the carton has received the full unit quantity of material.

il, In a nlling machine, the combination of a timina scaie.- acontinuously driven beit for cartying a line of empty cartons to saidscale, means adjacent thescaie for defiecting each carton lateraily fromthe line as it is delivered to the scale, resilient stop means engagingthe side of the deileted carton. means for iilling each carton while onthe scale, means for removing the cartons from the scale as they arelled, means for detlecting each filled carton laterally as it leaves thescale, resilient positioning means engaging the side of the deflectedfilled carton, said positioning means engaging the forward side of thefollowing carton on the scale to position it thereon as the deflectedfilled carton is carried beyond it, said stop means engaging the forwardside of the following empty carton when the denected empty carton hasbeen carriedbeyond it, and means for simultaneously withdrawing saidstop and positioning means when the carton positioned on the timingscale has been filled.

ERIC BEHRENT.

EUGENE F. MARRESFORD.

